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Sundance Turns the Big 3-0 by Trace De La Torre

Los Angeles — With Sundance Film Fest just hours from lighting up screens — there’s something more perceptibly INDIE about this year’s line-up than usual (hitting the big 3-0maybe?)— surely adding to all the merrymaking that marks the annual film festivities.

Here’s my Top 10 film picks that will everyone buzzing in 2014:

1.) Cooties

Directors: Jonathan Milott, Cary Murnion
Cast: Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayerTHE BUZZ: Already bought by UPI for territories including the U.K. & Germany — ‘Cooties’ is pegged as the breakout hit of the midnight section — plot centers around a mysterious virus that breaks out in a remote elementary school transforming students into freak zombies…

2.) Dear White People
Director: Justin Simien
Cast: Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, Teyonah Parris, Dennis HaysbertTHE BUZZ: A satire centered around four Black students attending an Ivy League College in the midst of a riot caused by a popular ‘African American’ themed party on campus.

4.) God’s Pocket
Director: John Slattery
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Christina Hendricks, John TurturroTHE BUZZ: Wow — WHAT A CAST — based on the 1983 novel by National Book Award Winning author — Pete Dexter — this drama stars Hoffman as a man whose son dies in a supposed accident in the gritty blue-collar neighborhood of ‘God’s Pocket’.

5.) Laggies
Director: Lynn Shelton
Cast: Keira Knightley, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sam RockwellTHE BUZZ: A bit more commercial fare — this dark Dramedy stars Keira Knightley as a commitment-phobe who runs off to hang out with a 16-year old friend to stall on her decision after her boyfriend’s marriage proposal. Sounds quirky.

6.) Life Itself
Director: Steve JamesTHE BUZZ: A heartrending documentary shot during the last four months of Roger Ebert’s life. Bring the tissue.

Director: Craig Johnson
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Luke Wilson, Ty BurrellTHE BUZZ: Estranged sibling twins cheat death on the same day without knowing it — karmic forces bring them back together to do some bitter-sweet soul-searching — especially about their love lives.

Click HERE: http://youtu.be/AnfPH8_e-jc to hear filmmaker Craig Johnson talk about his film ‘Skeleton Twins‘ premiering in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

9.) Song One
Director: Kate Barker-Froyland
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Johnny Flynn, Mary SteenburgenTHE BUZZ: A touching drama set against the Brooklyn music scene sees Anne Hathaway play a woman who’s been estranged from her family but returns home after her brother suffers an accident that leaves in a coma — grasping to fill in the void left by time — she retraces her brother’s life as an aspiring musician and tracks down his favorite musician to vicariously make up for lost time through music. Definitely bring the tissue.